CULTIVATED CROPS t% 



weather. If com is thoroughly dried and kept dry it will 

 stand freezing; but it is much better if it can be kept where 

 the temperature is slightly above freezing. 



Seed corn should never be placed above a stable in 

 which animals are kept, or over a bin of grain, as the steam 

 and breath from the animals, or the steam that may rise 

 from a bin of grain, if it heats even slightly, will keep corn 

 moist enough to greatly reduce the vitality of the germ. 



Good Seed Essential. — A kernel of corn is a very little 

 thing, but it is a very important factor in the production 

 of good yields. Very little time is necessary to select and 

 care for all the seed com needed on the average farm and 

 few farmers can afford to neglect this part of the business. 



Neglecting to save and properly care for seed corn may 

 save one or two days' time in the fall, but it may also mean 

 that poor seed com or com not well adapted to one's condi^ 

 tions will have to be planted the next year. Poor seed 

 com means a partial or total loss of the corn crop, which 

 may result in a very great financial loss. 

 Questions: 



1. What will injure the germ in a kernel of com? 



2. Why should one take seed com in from the field before frost? 



3. How do seedsmen store com, and why? 



4. How may farmers store their seed com? 

 Arithmetic: 



1. If it requires 20 ears of com tc plant an acre, how many ears^ 

 are required to plant 40 acres? 



2. If a man can select 800 ears of com in 2 days, how much will 

 it cost him to gather the 800 ears, if his time is worth $2.00 per day? 



3. How many bushels of com in 800 ears of corn weighing 

 10 oz. each (72 lbs. per bushel)? How much is it worth at $3.00 per 

 bushel? 



METHODS OF STORING SEED CORN 



Dr3ang. — Free circulation of air about seed corn is neces- 

 sary to dry it out, consequently many devices have been 

 used for storing it easily, quickly and in such a way that 

 this end will be accomplished. 



The old practice, of braiding several ears together by 

 the husks and hanging them up, is a satisfactory way to 

 keep the corn, but requires a great deal of unnecessary labor. 



A Simple Device. — A very simple and practical device 

 for putting up seed corn is illustrated in Figure 34.^ This. 



